As posted earlier, the government of Nigeria has sued the drug company Pfizer for fraud based on allegations that during a 1996 meningitis epidemic, Pfizer tested the experimental antibiotic Trovan without the consent of the families involved, and that this drug testing contributed to the deaths of several children. The Washington Post reports that Pfizer has now moved to dismiss the suit. The Post reports:

Pfizer's lawyers assert in the filing that "all clinical evidence points to the fact that any deaths were the direct result of the meningitis itself."

"The defendants always acted in the best interest of the children involved, using the best medical knowledge available," the filing says. "The defendants believed Trovan could save lives."

Pfizer said the survival rate was 94.4 percent for children given Trovan and 93.8 for a comparison drug.